A New Chapter for Our Colonial Revival: Part 1 - Falling in Love

One year ago this coming week, we officially became the owners a 1930s Colonial Revival. The majority of our renovation work is complete and we are ready to start sharing the journey of our renovation through a blog series. So, we felt we needed to start at the very beginning of this story.

In June of 2024, I went on a whim to an estate sale. My mom called to tell me that there were some great pieces of milk glass I might like. She also mentioned that she talked to the family and the home would be for sale. My mom knows the love I have for older homes with charm and character, especially homes with a beautiful staircase and a landing nook at the top. I don't know what it is about that combination that has a grip on me, but this house had one. I was curious more than anything to see inside just as much as I was to check out antiques and china.

Austin and I had looked at a few homes that Spring. We wanted to do some extensive renovations, but wanted to know that we planned to stay in our home if making that investment. We both had an itch to move or have a change in some way even though we loved our home so much. It is a weird thing to explain to others because we truly were happy and moving was a tough decision full of emotion. Our entire married lives had been there and it was the same neighborhood I grew up in. It's where many of our favorite memories are and where our babies were babies. But we had a feeling we couldn't shake that we should be ready for the right thing when it came along. We looked at a few houses that had things on our list, but in the end nothing felt right. We decided to stop looking and stay put.

But doesn't that seem to be how life works a lot of the time? At least in my case it has always felt that way. You finally feel at peace with a situation's outcome and then out of the blue an opportunity presents itself and you have to really lean into a leap of faith or stay put?

Fall 2024

Growing up I always romanticized living in one of the homes dotted along our town's historic district. The moment I pulled up to the house, I just saw so much beauty and potential. A home I have driven by multiple times a day for the majority of my life, but never stopped to notice. It was just a block over from our neighborhood on a charming street. The classic brick colonial revival with its symmetry and grand yet also humble curb appeal stuck out to me. When I stepped inside and saw the foyer, it felt like coming home. That is SUCH a weird thing to say about someone else's home full of their possessions and people for an estate sale. I have always thought people who said that were insane and for the next few hours I did feel slightly like I was losing it. It was a feeling I definitely did not have when intentionally going to look at homes to purchase. I instantly forgot all about the estate sale and explored. I can't tell you anything about the milk glass I came to see - just the house and my first impressions.

I could visualize the home as ours. I saw my kids running around, the colors I would use, the furniture I'd love to place, it just felt so warm and inviting. I could feel the history, love, and memories this 90 year old home held and I wanted to know more. I do think homes have a personality - after looking at several I feel that deeply. This one felt classic and splendid, but comfortable and I loved that feeling. Some homes can be so 'perfect' looking that I don't know that I'd ever be at ease in my sweats, cooking, or making a mess. This felt like a home that could host fancy dinners and messy every day meals with little kids. It could be a place large enough for our extended family to gather, but also felt cozy enough for movie nights and our family of four. It flexed both ways to me and that is exactly what I wanted.

The dentil moulding touches throughout the first floor gave it so much charm. The classic

and true craftsmanship of moulding and trim from the early 1900s are just not found in how homes are built today without extravagant cost. Even though I was aware of some of the updates the house would need - I was just struck by the character of the details. The antique light fixtures, brass hardware, plaster arches, fireplaces, high ceilings, built ins, and natural light. The floor plan of the home flowed so well and I loved how the spaces were separate and defined, but still felt so open. I do not personally love open floor plan homes and this provided the right balance.

Second floor landing

As I eventually made my way through the house, I only continued to add to my mental list of the things I loved about it. The spacious bedrooms, lots of storage for a home of this age, and just so many unique features you don't see in more modern floor plans. Of course there were things that stuck out like no primary bathroom or a functioning garage like we were used to - however, I just sort of saw past those and figured maybe we could sort that part out later. I knew I had to get Austin to see this house or I wouldn't be able to let it go.

So that night over his favorite Mexican restaurant meal and drinks, I convinced him to come to the next day of the estate sale. We would walk through the house and if he got bad vibes, did not like it, and thought I was ridiculous, I would never bring it up again. He did think I was crazy, but agreed to go because my logic about why this could be a good opportunity for us was sound. The next morning, we loaded the kids up and walked through the estate sale. It was busy and overwhelming. I was fully prepared for him to shoot down the idea of the house and pursuing it any further, but he actually loved it. He had some of the same feelings that I did. We continued to talk about it over the next week and decided we wanted to reach out to the family. We were interested in seeing the house when they were ready to move forward.

Time jump to August and we went to see the house for the first time with the intent of buying it. We discussed with family and friends and we even took our parents and kids through the house a second time. We knew it would need work and we spent some time getting quotes and figuring out the financials of what it needed, what we wanted to do, and what was possible. I was adamant that I wanted our family to be able to stay in our home until renovations were done. I did not want to uproot our kids and have to try to find a rental or beg grandparents to let us crash with them. If we could not figure out a way to keep things as normal as possible for our family through a major renovation, I did not want to try it. I was happy where we were, but I knew we could also be really happy here for a very long time. The time and grind it was when we worked on the Bee House was overwhelming and thinking about an extensive, personal renovation with two little kids made me nervous. Our electrician assured us it also wasn't the type of renovation we could live in and through due to the electrical work.

Our offer was accepted in the early Fall. We spent much of that season prior to closing creating our plans and making selections so that we would be ready to begin. I also dug deep into the home's unique history and can't wait to share more about it here in a future post. We closed on December 6th, 2024 and my 30th birthday was the first 'demo day' in the house. I couldn't have asked for a better way to enter my thirties that felt equally symbolic with starting a new chapter for our family. So on the heels of our 7th anniversary and Thanksgiving, I'm thankful to report that we survived planning and completing an extensive historic home renovation and came out on the other side better for it as a couple and a family. A year later, we have been living in the home for several months, experiencing our firsts here, and we love it so much more than I pictured. I miss the memories and the chapters of our life that our old house held - those seasons of life that I know we can't relive. But I look forward to the next chapters and memories we are already creating here. See you next post!

- Meredith